The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) prescribes that a Public Body must provide details of records held by such Body so that any request for information may be accommodated.

The details of records kept by a Public Body are contained in a book commonly known as a manual. The manual therefore relates to the records kept by the Public Body. The records kept pertain to the business / functions of each and every unit. To distinguish between the functions / business of each unit, the records of each unit are numbered differently. Each record also carries a disposal instruction.

Apart from records, also called files, the manual also contains information on the addresses of the Head of the Department as well as the Information Officer/s of the Public Body and also the name of each unit in the Public Body, its core function and a list of all records kept by the Public Body.